I Can Be All Things—Because He Is My Strength

I’ve been through hell in the last two years. And I’m not using that phrase lightly.

Covid—twice. A pinched nerve in my neck that went untreated for six weeks. A tumor on my thyroid. Nodules. Exhaustion that stole years of life. Bone spurs in my neck. Grief from losing my husband. Grief from losing my mother. Becoming caregiver to my stepfather with stage 4 cancer. Relocating five states away only two months after my husband died. The near-fatal car crash my stepfather actually survived and thrives from through months of recovery. Estrangement and reconciliation with my sister. A relationship that felt like a spiritual battlefield with my fiancé, followed by his diagnosis and treatment of a serious and aggressive cancer. Leaving a church that once felt like family. Financial hardship that has lingered like a shadow. And the illness of my precious dog, Ally—the kind of pet that’s not just a pet but a heartbeat with fur.

Any one of those could’ve taken me out. Any one of those could’ve made me walk away from God. But I didn’t. And I won’t. Because He is my strength.

Foundations Are Proven in the Free Fall

Life will feel like a roller coaster. You will feel the curves, the flips, the turns, the violent drops. But if your foundation is in Christ, you don’t live in the rollercoaster—you ride it from a grounded place.

See, when your feet are planted in the Lord, you can handle the wind in your face without losing your mind. You can cry without quitting. You can be shaken without being shattered.

I don’t say any of this to boast or look polished. I’m not polished. I’m not untouched by pain. I’m still healing. Still recovering. Still praying some prayers that haven’t been answered yet.

But I have learned this: You can only deal with one thing at a time, even when you’re surrounded by 100. And anything God truly calls you to do—He will equip you to endure.

But you must seek Him. You must rely on Him. You must actually believe that He is who He says He is. Faith is not a bumper sticker. It’s not a song lyric.

Faith is a muscle. And I’ve been in the gym.

He Never Promised You a Rose Garden—He Promised Himself

You remember that old song? “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden…”Well, God didn’t either. In fact, He said, “In this world, you will have trouble.” But He followed it up with a promise: “Take heart, I have overcome the world.”

We serve a God who never said it would be easy. He said it would be worth it. He didn’t promise perfection. He promised presence. He promised peace that doesn’t make sense and joy that doesn’t evaporate in the heat of grief.

He gave His Son. He gave His Spirit. What more do we need Him to prove?

If you only love Him when the check clears, when the diagnosis is reversed, when the relationship is smooth, then friend—you’re not in love with God. You’re in love with comfort. And comfort won’t carry you when your life falls apart.

What’s Missing Today? Eternity

We’ve lost our eternal perspective. We’ve become so earthbound in our thinking, so addicted to outcomes, so obsessed with avoiding pain, that we forget: This isn’t home.

Hebrews 6 lays out the basics of our faith—things most churches today won’t even preach. It reminds us that we are not saved by works, that repentance from dead works matters, that judgment is real, that eternity isn’t fluff—it’s the finish line.

You are saved by grace. But your position in heaven? That table you’ll sit at in the Kingdom? That nearness to Christ? That’s determined by what you do with your salvation. By how you love. How you persevere. How you serve, even when the storm is howling and no one’s watching.

Strength Isn’t Shiny—It’s Rooted

I’m not strong because I smile through storms. I’m strong because I stay. I stay planted. I stay faithful. I stay with God even when I don’t understand Him.

Because I have learned that when the winds hit, the only thing that won’t fly away is what’s rooted in Him.

So I say this to anyone who’s tired, who’s grieving, who’s overwhelmed and crawling through it: You can be all things—because He is your strength. But you’ve got to let Him be. Stop leaning on your own understanding. Stop trying to control the roller coaster. Just anchor down in Him—and let Him hold you steady in the free fall.